Iran rejects AMIA trial

BUENOS AIRES — Iran has rejected Argentina’s proposal to put on trial in a neutral country those accused in the bombing of a Jewish community centre in Buenos Aires.

In a letter sent last week to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Iran called the proposal “unsustainable.”

“The Iranian government has ensured that no Iranian citizen was involved, directly or indirectly, in the bombing of the AMIA,” the letter said.

Argentine prosecutors have accused Iran of masterminding the July 1994 attack on the AMIA central Jewish umbrella building, which killed 85 and wounded hundreds. Prosecutors in Buenos Aires have issued warrants for the arrest of five Iranians, including Iranian Defence Minister Ahmed Vahidi, in the case.

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner had made the proposal to hold a trial in a third country while at the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York on Sept. 24.

Argentina will issue a response to Iran’s letter, Kirchner said.